A Maryville, Tenn., man who led a Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranger on a high-speed chase toward Gatlinburg has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Dewey Tyson Bradburn, 51, also must undergo a year of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The ranger in a picnic area of the park saw Bradburn sitting in a vehicle on Nov. 2, 2011, with what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, a news release states.

When confronted Bradburn drove away at speeds of more than 70 miles per hour, crossing the center line of the roadway and nearly running into oncoming traffic, the release states. His car eventually was stopped when rangers put down a spike strip to deflate his tires.

"Our park is the most-visited national park in America," chief park Ranger Clayton Jordan said. "We hope that this sentence sends a clear message to persons like Bradburn that actions risking the lives of our visitors will result in serious consequences."